Thompson Named CIO of the Year by Pittsburgh Technology Council

April 22, 2016 • Article

April 22, 2016—The Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC) has named the SEI’s David Thompson CIO of the Year for organizations under 1,000 employees. In making its award, the PTC cited Thompson’s efforts to improve access for all SEI staff to business-critical information and for the development and deployment of improved reporting and analytics capabilities. All winners were selected based on criteria related to planning and deployment of strategy, future goals, management philosophy, corporate culture, and service to the community.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the PTC,” said Thompson. “But the true recognition goes to the incredible professionals on my staff. They are knowledgeable and talented, and I’m proud of the work they do every day to provide technology-enabled solutions for the extraordinary people at the SEI.”

Thompson was honored by the PTC on April 21 at an event at Heinz Field attended by more than 650 people. Sponsored by the Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC) and the Greater Pittsburgh CIO Group, the event recognized the region’s top technology executives working in industry, the non-profit sector, and academia.

“Pittsburgh is home to some of the brightest tech minds in the world leading technology strategies across companies of all sizes and industries,” said Audrey Russo, president and CEO of the PTC. “It is important to take a night to celebrate their accomplishments, innovation and leadership. Congratulations to the finalists and winners.”

Thompson has more than 25 years of experience in IT operations, information security, and data center administration. A long-time resident of Western Pennsylvania, Thompson started his career in the banking industry, first in retail banking and then in computing operations. Immediately prior to joining the SEI in 2004, he worked for ALLTEL Information Services (now FIS Global) where he served as a member of the leadership team of one of ALLTEL's three North American data centers.

Thompson is a member of ACM and IEEE. He earned his BA from Cedarville University and his MA from the University of Dayton.